Click the Google Drive icon in your Mac’s menu bar → Settings (gear icon) → Preferences.

Find the zip in your “Downloads” folder, double-click to unzip, then drag the photos into the Photos app or a Finder folder. Warning: Google strips metadata (like location and original date) when downloading individual photos. For archival purposes, use Method 1. Method 4: Using an iPhone Sync (If You Still Have Original Photos on Your Phone) If your photos are still on your iPhone and you use Google Photos only as a backup, you can bypass Google entirely.

Go to the “Google Photos” tab. Check the box that says “Enable Google Photos” and choose a folder on your Mac where photos should be saved.

Go to photos.google.com on your Mac’s browser.

Unlock your iPhone and trust the computer if prompted.

Connect your iPhone to the Mac via USB.

Open the app and sign into your Google account.

Select “Download.” Google Photos will zip the selected items into a single .zip file.